America is seen by the world as the fount of capitalism, ideologues on both the right and the left are hurting U.S. businesses in their attempts to compete globally. Constraints on companies’ profits, sales, and development are occurring because politicians in legislative bodies and government agencies on the federal, state, and local levels are making policy decisions about how firms should be run and what actions are necessary to...

We heard recently about efforts in the Netherlands to sue the government over its failure to act on climate change. A similar effort was unsuccessful in the US a number of years ago, but the shadow of possibility still exists. Now, we have another story—this time out of the UK—about efforts by activists to forcibly eject Big Oil and its corrupting influence from Britain’s cultural institutions. Under the guise of “sponsorships,” some...

Few if any cities or countries have been better off after they hosted the Olympic Games. The people of Boston have figured that out and told the Olympic Committee no thanks. The city of Boston is ending its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, conceding to residents who’ve vocally protested the idea for months. Poll numbers have shown that a majority of people in the region were opposed to hosting the Games, which have become...

Racist tweet mars U.S. – Israel relations by Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — The Washington Post and other sources have reported on a regrettable tweet dispatched—and then withdrawn—by Judy Shalom Nir-Mozes, who is married to Israel’s deputy prime minster, Silvan Shalom. She is also is a prominent media personality in her own right. The despicable tweet was as follows: “Do u know what Obama Coffee is? Black and weak.” Ms....

Over at The American Conservative Daniel Larison reminds us how lucky we are that Mitt Romney lost in 2012. In an editorial in The Wall Street Journal he once again demonstrates that he has no knowledge of foreign policy and in addition listens to all the wrong people to make up for this deficit. He makes it sound like Iran and it’s government are a bunch of suicide bombers who will use the bomb once they get it. I suspect he...

Two days in St. Petersburg and speaking with a small sample of Russian citizens (who know English) has led me to a few conclusions. Russians love Putin (as the polls suggest) and are pleased that he has made the nation a powerful presence again in world affairs. They agree with his grabbing of the Crimea as they believe it is really Russian territory and should have never been given to the Ukraine in the first place. Russians also...

It is sad when a culture still engages in such savagery. From Sky News: “Villagers in the northeastern Indian state of Assam have attacked, killed and beheaded a woman accused of practising witchcraft. Mother-of-five Moni Orang was grabbed from her home by machete-carrying locals after priests accused her of casting spells. The 63-year-old was then hacked to death.” It is amazing that any culture existing today would...

At 69 I like most of the people alive I have lived with the threat of nuclear weapons all of my life. Less than 10 months before I was born the first nuclear weapon was detonated in New Mexico. It was code named Trinity. The light of a nuclear explosion is unlike anything else on Earth. This is because the heat of a nuclear explosion is unlike anything else on Earth. Seventy years ago today, when the first atomic weapon was...

If senior officials of one of your closest allies played a role in the most devastating terrorist attacks ever to strike your country – it seems logical that one might look for alternatives. So – did the Saudi role in the September 11th attacks figure in the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program reached in Vienna last week? In this interview with Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour, Dr. Patrice Gourdin, Professor...

The Euro was never an economic instrument but a political one. It never made any sense economically, a point made by economists on both side of the aisle at the time. The British wisely made the decision to not join it. The IMF basically said the Euro as it is configured is not working. Matt O’Brien says that The euro is a disaster even for the countries that do everything right. The euro might be worse for you than...

Today’s nuclear deal with Iran could be inimical for Israel but seems unavoidable, given the growing military and political instability in the Middle East. Secretary of State John Kerry has won a good deal but its critics are also correct when they say that Iran will be free to do whatever it likes after 15 -20 years. Its armament in both nuclear and conventional weapons could be unstoppable. “This deal is not built on trust....

At this time of high risk in the region, the deal with Iran even if shaky seems unavoidable. It offers the only available opportunity to improve the terrain for US-led moves to promote regional stability for America’s sake and that of Israel and other allies. Failure to win signatures in Vienna would have sent a resentful Iran sulking into new conspiratorial huddles against American interests. In the event of failure, China and Russia...

Germany has emerged as the economic hegemon of Europe as 19 Eurozone partners that use the euro currency acquiesced to its demands and imposed an unconditional surrender upon Greece, the zone’s weakest and nearly bankrupt member. Very active diplomacy personally by President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew failed to prevent Germany’s Angela Merkel from imposing her will. She had good reasons to do so because previous...

If Pope Francis wants people to believe that he isn’t a Communist, then he is going to need the help of a public-relations person and a speech writer. During the Pontiff’s visit to Bolivia, the president of that nation presented Francis with a crucifix carved into a wooden hammer and sickle, as seen in a photo published by The Telegraph. Granted, the Pontiff didn’t ask for such a gift, and he couldn’t publicly reject the gift without...

That sound you hear — or in all likelihood didn’t hear at all — is the other shoe dropping in the scandal involving the secret collaboration between the American Psychological Association and the Bush administration to justify the CIA’s use of Nazi-like torture techniques. The first shoe dropped in April when a group of dissident health-care professionals and human rights activists released a scathing report...

This is probably the last post from Europe in our photo adventure but I can’t leave without some pictures from Munich’s famous Oktoberfest. The Bavarian people knew how to have a good time. Here in the United States we have mini Oktoberfests but nothing like the real thing. There were usually 7 beer tents put up by the 7 Munich breweries that held over 2,000 people each and they were full by 10 in the morning. In...

In 1884 the International Meridian Council suggested a zero point and a way to match clock time with the position of the sun. It looked good on paper but hasn’t always made sense. We can see in the map below that times zones can be chaotic, Time zones are often social instruments rather than logical ones. China should have five time zones but only has one. India should have three but only has one. In my own state of Oregon...

Forty years after the fall of Saigon and the end of one of America’s most unpopular, divisive and costly wars, President Barack Obama will be hosting none other than Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong in the White House on Tuesday. While economic relations and trade issues with Pacific Rim nations are important — Trong’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade accord is particularly needed...

Yesterday our nation celebrated the 239th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. Foreign friends and not-so-friends — including Russian President Vladimir Putin — sent messages of congratulations to Americans and the United States. But ours is not the only Independence Day celebrated around the world. Today, July 5, the people of Cabo Verde celebrate the 40th anniversary of their independence and the people of...

Greece is on the edge of economic and social catastrophe which all the kings men may not be able to put together again for decades. Experts and historians will strive for years to apportion blame for the unfolding human tragedy in the cradle of European civilization. It is happening despite Europe’s longest ever era of peace, prosperity and broad-based social uplift. All financial spigots for Greece have been firmly turned off. The...